Method op forming separators for wells



UNITED STATES PATENT onnron.

. onLYN A. LAYNE, or LOS anennns, onnrronnrn.

METHOD OF FORMING SEPARATORS FOB. WELLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 20, 1919.

Application filed November 13, 1916, Serial No. 131,022. Renewed'March 31, 1919. Serial N0.' 286,554.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLLYN A. LAYNE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Methods of Forming Separators for Wells, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to methods of formation for making or formingsuch things as separators for wells; relating particularly to methods of forming separators in well pipes or casings, applicable after the pipe or casin has been placed in the well.

It is inclu ed within the objects of this invention to provide a means for effectively and efliciently formin a uniform separator throughout any spec ed lengthof pipe or casing; to produce a separator by easy, efiicient, and practically instantaneous action; and it is also an object of this invention to provide a method particularly efficient in connection with (although not limited to) the separator device herein shown and explained, and more particularly shown and explained and claimed in my co-pending application entitled, Se arators for wells, filed on even date herewlth. Other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter. r The primary feature of this invention is the formation of the separator or the like, or the change of form or perforatio'n'of a pipe or casing or the like, by fluid pressure, caused by a sudden jar or explosive action within the pipe, capable of being carried on after the pipe has been lowered into place. This specification contains a detailed description of a preferred method of pro cedure; and preferred forms of the appa ratus for the same are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In these drawings Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal, diagrammatic section showing the pipe orcas ing in place in the well, and the apparatus ready for the formation of the separator; Flg. 2 is a similar view, showingthe separator formed; Fig. 3 is an exterior view showmg the pipe or casing' in itsinitial form; Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the pipe or casing in its final form; and Fig. 5 is a ver tical longitudinal section showing a modified form of pipe or casing in its final form.

In carrying my method into effect, I first form the pipe or casing 10 in the manner shown in Fig. 3. The casing is locally weakened; preferably by making incisions as shown at 11 and thus cutting out a tongue or lip 12 on all sides except its upper side or end, where the tongue is integrally joined with the wall of the pipe, as shown' at 13. This formation may be effected by punching out the lips 12 and then flattening them back to flush position, so that, to all ordinary intents and purposes, the pipe 10 is a smooth surfaced pipe both interiorly and exteriorly; or this formation maybe made by punching the lips 12 out of a flat sheet or plate and then flattening them back to flush position, and then forming a pipe of sheet or'plate, in any suitable manner. In the form shown in Fig. 5 the pipe 10 surrounds an interior pipe 10 having apertures 15* therein directly under the lips 12, the apertures 15 being smaller than the lips 12, and the lips overhanging the apertures substantially so as to prevent direct entrance of sand, etc., through the apertures 15.

When the lips 12 are bent outwardly to the positions shown in Fig. 4, then the lips hang diagonally outwardly and downwardly, and the openings 15 are formed through the pipe 10. These openings 15 are also protected by. the overhanging lips 12; so that, either in the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4', or in the form shown in Fig. 5, the openings through the pipe, whether it be through the pipe 10, or through the inner pipe 10, are protected b the overhanging lips 12. The pipe, or the double pipe, is lowered into the well with the lips 12 in a flush position; so that the pipe may be used and treated as an ordinary well pipe or casing, having no. exterior apertures, depressions, or protrusions to collect any mud, sand, or the like, and the openings 15' or 15 being eifectively protected against filling up with foreign matter while the drilling operation is in process; i

The casing having been lowered into the well, andbe'ing in the desired position, it is then desired to open the apertures through the casing, to-form the separator as shown in the drawing. The preferred method is as follows: A string or tube of explosive is lowered into the casing. This is preferably in the form of a high explosive in a small lead tube; and at its upper end a cap is placed, the cap being detonated by electric current transmitted through the wire or cable 22. This explosive-is of such a character that, when detonated, the detonation travels from one end to the other so fast that the detonation is practically simultaneous throughout the whole length. The length of the explosive string or tube is made to equal the length of the casing throughout which it is desired to open up the openings and form the separators. The explosive string or tube having been lowered to the proper position within that part of the casing desired to be acted upon, it is detonated. The outward expansion due to the explosion presses the lips 12 outwardly to the position shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, and opens the apertures 15, or 15 and 15, as the case may be, and blows the sand or other formation away from the openings, so as to initially clear the spaces around the openings for unimpeded entrance of fluid. The sand, etc, having been cleared away around and outside the openings 15, when the sand settles back against the casing it banks up against the lips 12 somewhat in the manner indicated at 16 in Fig. 2. The lips 12 protect the openings 15 by hanging over them and prevent the direct entry of sand, mud, etc., through the openings and into the interior of the casing. It is also a feature of this method that all of the openings are opened simultaneously, so that there is immediately an evenly distributed gentle flow of liquid through all of the openings to the interior of the casing, rather than a concentrated flow at high velocity through one or a few openings first made, as in the ordinary process of perforating casings and the like.

It will be seen that this invention comprises generally the previous weakening of a casing, pipe, or the like, preferably by incisionswhich cut out lips or tongues from the wall of the casing, and the subsequent changing of the form of the casing, etc, at the weakened placesin this specific instance the opening of the weakened or incised portions by pressure generated by jar or explosive action from the inside. It will be understood that the interior pressure may be raised in any suitable manner; that I' find a sudden jar or concussion most suitable be cause of the fact that the sudden outward pressure on the weakened portions opens them up fully, whereas a slow pressure would only have the effect of partly opening the weakened portions, the pressure then escaping; that a sudden jar may be imparted by such means as dropping a weighted piston down the pipe, or by putting a piston in the pipe which is full of liquid at the upper end of the part wished to be perforated and then striking a blow on the piston; but that I find explosive action to be a most convenient and efficient means of imparting the sudden jar. This explosive action is preferably carried on while the'casing or pipe is filled with liquid through those portions in which it is desired to make openings; and explosion within the pipe is transmitted by the liquid to the weakened portions of the pipe, advantage being taken of the substantial non-compressibility of the liquid. In this manner the explosive force is applied very efiectually and with substantial uniformity to the various weakened portions of the pipe; with the result, in actual practice, that the lips 12 are all pressed outwardly to uniform angular position.

The nature of my invention will be read ily understood from the foregoing description; and, although I have described a preferred form of method and procedure in some detail, I do not limit myself to such, as the method may be varied and modified within the scope of the following claims without departing from my invention.

It will be seen that, although I describe my invention as a method of forming well separators, the procedure is not necessarily limited to such articles but may be applied wherever the form of a casing or pipe, etc, may be changed by such procedure. For instance, wherever it is desired to form a concrete column or footing below the ground surface, or to force concrete into the earth around or at the bottom of a pipe, my procedure may be advantageously used to change the form of, or open up, the pipe (and at the same time to shatter the surrounding formation) to allow the outward fiow of concrete.

Having described a invention, I claim:

1. The herein described method of changing the form of a casing or the like, embodying first locally weakening the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form, desired in the casing, filling the casing with liquid, and then subjecting it to internal liquid transmitted pressure to displace the weakened parts.

2; The herein described method of changing the form of a casing or the like, embodying first locally weakening the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, filling the casing with liquid and then subjecting it to internal'sudden jar transmitted by the liquid to displace the weakened parts.

3. The herein described method of chang ing the form of a casing Or the like, embodying first locally weakening the casing walls in a mannerand form corresponding to thechange of form desired in the casing, and then subjecting it to internal explosive pressure.

I. The herein described method of chang. ing the form of a casing or the like, embodying first locally weakening the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, filling preferred form of my the casing with a liquid, and then subjecting it to internal explosive pressure transmitted by the liquid.

5. The herein described method of changing the form of a casing or the like, embodying first locally weakening the casing walls throughout any desired length, and then detonating an explosive within the casing substantially simultaneously throughout the length of casing where a change of form is desired.

6. The herein described method of changing the form of a casing or the like, embodying first locally weakening the casing in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, and then subjecting it to explosive pressure.

7. The herein described method of perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, filling the casing with liquid, and then subjecting it to liquid transmitted pressure to displace the incised parts.

8. The herein described method of perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, filling the casmg with liquid, and then subjecting it to internal sudden jar transmitted by the liquid to displace the incised parts.

9. The herein described method of perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, and

then subjecting it to internal explosive pressure. v

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the 10. The herein described method of perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, filling the casing with a liquid, and then subjecting it to internal explosive pressure transmitted by the liquid.

11. The herein described methodof perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls throughout any desired length, and then detonating an explosive within the casing substantially simultaneously throughout the length of casing where a change of form is desired.

12. The herein described method of perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls without changing the form of the casing and in a manner and form corresponding to the change of form desired in the casing, then subjecting the casing to explosive pressure to displace the incised parts.

13. The herein described method of perforating a casing or the like, embodying first locally incising the casing walls without changing the form of the casing and in a manner and form corresponding to the changeof form desired in the casing, filling the casing with liquid, and then subjecting the casing to a liquid transmitted sudden jar to displace the incised parts.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 6th day of November, 1916.

OLLYN A. LAYNE.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

